Once an employee of the community grocery store, suspect Kayla Carter was summoned to 7th District court today in connection with the burglary and theft of Stewart’s Market in Castle Dale .
The twenty-five-year-old appeared before Judge Harmond Wednesday morning, and stands accused of aiding and assisting in theft, a second-degree felony, and aiding and assisting in burglary, a first-degree felony, in connection with the burglary of Stewart’s Market on October 9, 2012.
On the morning of October 9, В employees discovered a door to the building was unlocked when they arrived for their shift.. Upon further investigation, the employees found the В grocery store safe had been wiped clean. After an inventory of goods was taken, and further investigation of the scene was conducted, it was discovered that cash, stamps, and 16 cartons of cigarettes had been stolen. The grand total of stolen items amounted to $13,991.82.
The Emery County Sheriff’s department said there were no obvious signs of forced entry, leading them to believe the act was committed by someone who had a store key in their possession. When a locksmith inspected the safe, he reported the safe also did not show signs of forced entry, meaning the perpetrator(s) used the code. With this new information possible suspects were narrowed down to six, and after questioning, person-of-interest Kayla Carter captured the attention of investigators.
“Some of her (Carter) story just didn’t make sense,” Emery County Detective Garrett Conover said. “Her behavior and her statements led us to believe she was involved.”
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After further questioning and community assistance two more suspects were revealed, a 17-year-old male subject, and 27-year-old Ronald Tyler Firm. Firm and the young man gave full confessions regarding their involvement, stating they spent the money to support a drug habit. During Carter’s questioning, she stated her involvement in the crime was opening the door and giving out the safe code. Carter denied taking anything from the store personally.  Firm and the juvenile have both been charged with burglary, a third degree felony, theft, a second degree felony, and criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor.
Carter’s preliminary hearing has been set for February 5, 2013 at 10:30a.m.
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